- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Grows on pine roots in China, East Asia and North America. Wolfiporia extensa (Poria cocos)
- Other names
- Tuckahoe
Asia · Mushroom · № 146
Wolfiporia cocos
Mushroom · Asia
Poria (fu ling)
Wolfiporia cocos
One of the most widely used remedies in Chinese medicine, for fluid retention, poor digestion and restless sleep. Clinical research on fu ling alone is scarce.
Safety notes
Generally well tolerated. Use caution with diuretics. Fluid retention from heart or kidney problems needs medical treatment.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Herbal medicine worldwide: Not with excessive urination or prolapse of urogenital organs. Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
- Chinese materia medica: Not with copious, clear urination from cold deficiency.
Preparation
The dried sclerotium in slices or powder, as decoction in formulas or in cakes (fu ling bing). No dosage is given here.
Use in traditions
Fu ling appears in many classic Chinese formulas. In North America Indigenous peoples ate it as 'Indian bread' (tuckahoe). Ody describes it as a gentle, widely used Chinese remedy.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Herbal medicine worldwide
Attributed effects
Antitumour, stimulates the immune system, antiviral, calming, pain-relieving, diuretic; tonic for spleen and stomach; for scanty urination, oedema, palpitations and insomnia.
Preparation and amount
Decoction 9–15 g or tincture 3–5 ml.
Caution: Not with excessive urination or prolapse of urogenital organs. Serious illnesses such as infections, cancer or hepatitis need a doctor: there is no evidence that this remedy cures them.
Chinese food therapy
Attributed effects
Bland in taste: promotes urination and drains excess fluid, calms the nervous system and supports a balanced hormone system; strengthens the spleen. In this dish shiitake supports immunity.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sweet, bland, neutral
- Meridians
- spleen, heart, lung, bladder
Attributed effects
Promotes urination in oedema and difficult urination without causing thirst, strengthens the spleen in poor appetite, a distended abdomen, diarrhoea and phlegm, and calms the heart in insomnia and palpitations.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 6–15 g a day, usually in a decoction. The part that grows around the pine root (fu shen) calms more strongly; the skin (fu ling pi) works more strongly against oedema; red fu ling for damp heat. In the south-eastern US indigenous peoples knew the fungus as 'Indian bread'.
Combinations
- With zhu ling, ze xie, bai zhu and cinnamon twig in wu ling san for fluid accumulation
- With ginseng, bai zhu and licorice in si jun zi tang
- Fu shen with jujube seed and polygala for insomnia
Caution: Not with copious, clear urination from cold deficiency.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- DecoctionTincturePowder and kitchen
- Formulas
- Ba wei di huang wan (jin gui shen qi wan)Ba zhen tangBan xia hou po tangBao he wanChai hu jia long gu mu li tangDang gui shao yao sanDu huo ji sheng tangEr chen tangGui pi tangGui zhi fu ling wanHuo xiang zheng qi sanJia wei xiao yao sanJing fang bai du sanLing gui zhu gan tangLing yang gou teng tangLiu jun zi tangLiu wei di huang wanMai men dong yin ziQi ju di huang wanSang piao xiao sanShen ling bai zhu sanShi quan da bu tangShi wei bai du tangShu jing huo xue tangSi jun zi tangSuan zao ren tangTian ma gou teng yinTian wang bu xin danWei ling tangWen dan tangWu lin sanWu ling sanWu pi yinXiao ban xia jia fu ling tangXiao yao sanXing su sanYi gan sanZhen wu tangZhi bai di huang wanZhu ling tang